FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT BAGPIPER - PAGE 2

Underneath the marketing din, bottle shapes and diverse packaging, all whiskies that dominate the awkwardly titled spirits constellation called Indian Made Foreign Liquor are the same. At least that's what whisky connoisseurs, the Scotch or single malt crowd who take in the aroma, hold, slosh and roll the drink over the tongue... you get the idea, would tell you. IMFL whisky fans couldn't care less. They queue up at liquor shops, take wild swigs, mostly with water, sometimes with soda and almost always with a packet of pickle or a couple of boiled eggs selling outside.

Liquor major McDowell & Co has earmarked a budget of around Rs 3 crore in the current fiscal for in-film advertising and promotion of its brands. The company has steadily upped its exposure in films, both Indian and Hollywood, and plans to increase exposure in the next fiscal, reports a business newspaper. At present, the two of its brands are associated with films like Raveena Tandon's home production, Stumped , and Vivek Oberoi starrer, Dum. Stumped showcases McDowell No 1 brand while Bagpiper has finds a place in Dum . The company had earlier tied up with Bollywood multi-starrer Kaante and the Hollywood movie Analyze That , in which Premium Signature whiskey found a place.

Liquor major McDowell & Co has earmarked a budget of around Rs 3 crore in the current fiscal for in-film advertising and promotion of its brands. The company has steadily upped its exposure in films, both Indian and Hollywood, and plans to increase exposure in the next fiscal, reports a business newspaper. At present, the two of its brands are associated with films like Raveena Tandon's home production, Stumped , and Vivek Oberoi starrer, Dum. Stumped showcases McDowell No 1 brand while Bagpiper has finds a place in Dum . The company had earlier tied up with Bollywood multi-starrer Kaante and the Hollywood movie Analyze That , in which Premium Signature whiskey found a place.

Liquor major McDowell & Co has earmarked a budget of around Rs 3 crore in the current fiscal for in-film advertising and promotion of its brands. The company has steadily upped its exposure in films, both Indian and Hollywood, and plans to increase exposure in the next fiscal, reports a business newspaper. At present, the two of its brands are associated with films like Raveena Tandon's home production, Stumped , and Vivek Oberoi starrer, Dum. Stumped showcases McDowell No 1 brand while Bagpiper has finds a place in Dum . The company had earlier tied up with Bollywood multi-starrer Kaante and the Hollywood movie Analyze That , in which Premium Signature whiskey found a place.

NEW DELHI: Liquor firm United Spirits has inked a pact to buy JP Impex Incorp's Karnataka-based assets - including plant and machinery - for Rs 11.5 crore, enhancing its liquor manufacturing capacity in the state. The company has entered into an asset purchase agreement with J P Impex lncorp, a partnership firm, for purchasing the building, plant and machinery, licences, transfer of lease hold rights on the land, all relating to the factory, United Spirits Ltd (USL) said in a filing to the BSE . "The purchase of the above assets...would facilitate an increase in the company's licensed Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)

MUMBAI: The UB Group is likely to offer a 26% stake to a strategic partner or a financial partner in a new company that it's planning to create by merging all its four existing group companies, including the newly-acquired Shaw Wallace & Co (SWC). The revenue to be raised through this placement will be used to pay off debts aggregating Rs 1,000 crore. The group also expects to generate a surplus of Rs 300-350 crore after paying off its debts. The process of restructuring UB's spirits business under a single entity will be completed within six months, a UB source said.

BANGALORE: McDowell & Co Ltd, the flagship spirits company of the UB group, is looking to lease in perpetuity some brands from international spirits companies for sale in the country. Parallely, the company is also seeking international marketing alliances to globalise its rum portfolio. Said UB group president (spirits division) Mr Vijay Rekhi, "We are examining a fast-track approach to launching Scottish/international brands in the country. Leasing some global brands is one such option.

After a surge in the past few months, the stock of United Spirits fell by over 10% within a week. Dwindling volumes of the regular whisky brands, which form the bulk of its business and higher cost of raw materials have prompted investors to book profits. The company's performance in the quarter to September continued to show pressure on the topline and operating profitability due to higher input costs and rising brand promotion expenses amidst steep competition. This is likely to exert further pressure on its stock price in the near term.

Karan Bilimoria, amazingly, doesn't know Vijay Mallya. "I've never even met him," Bilimoria told me in Delhi on Friday, as he launched the Indian edition of his zippy "how to" book, Bottled for Business: The Less Gassy Guide to Entrepreneurship. Yet these two Indians are the men who've added an exciting fizz to the drinks scene in Britain lately. While Bilimoria's "less gassy" lager is arguably the best known "Indian" beer in Britain, I'm pretty sure that the next time we Indians sip an Isle of Jura single malt anywhere in the world, we will linger a satisfying moment on the fact that it's now owned by Mallya.

NEW DELHI | BANGALORE: Beer-to-Airline tycoon Vijay Mallya knows the value of brands. And he's pretty good at convincing even the most traditional of bankers that brands have value, and worth. Recently, the audacious 55-year-old chairman of the UB Group convinced conservative, government-owned State Bank of India (SBI) to accept the Kingfisher airline brand ? registered separately from its beer and wine brands ? as collateral to raise Rs 2,000 crore in debt. It's not that others haven't monetised brands to raise cash.